Men’s hockey unlucky on weekend

Heading into the weekend on a three-game winning streak, men’s hockey saw their momentum snapped. The Gaels picked up just a lone point this past weekend with a 4-3 regulation loss against Concordia on Friday night followed by a 3-2 double overtime loss against UQTR.

As the Gaels outshot the Stingers 47-42 on Friday night, head coach Brett Gibson said the team’s effort justified more than a 4-3 loss.

“We deserved the better fate,” he said. “We had the higher shot totals throughout the game, with more impressive opportunities. But every opportunity we gave them was a grade-A scoring chance, which they followed up on.”

Saturday’s game saw the Gaels register a point against the first-place UQTR Patriotes, though the Gaels’ slow start wasn’t to Gibson’s liking.

Gibson said it felt like his team showed up at 9:00 for a 7:30 game.

However, he was pleased that his team managed to send the game into overtime.

“There’s no shame in that loss,” Gibson said. “I’m not a coach who looks for moral victories, but to score two points on one of the best teams in the country — that’s impressive, and it felt great.”

UQTR outshot Queen’s 57-33, as Kevin Bailie made 54 saves on the day.

After falling down 2-0, Peter Angelopolous and Slater Doggett scored in the third to tie the game. Though the quick comeback in the last few minutes didn’t help, as UQTR’s Guillaume Asselin scored his 18th goal of the season in the game’s second overtime.

Gaels forward Eric Ming extended his point streak to eight games with a goal and an assist on the weekend, where he’s picked up seven goals and five assists on the run.

“We knew last year he was going to become a leader on this team, but [Ming] has taken this team on his back and has grown into a great leadership role,” Gibson said. Ming now has 10 goals and eight assists — one short of his 10-goal, nine-assist effort last year in his rookie season.

Queen’s defenceman Spencer Abraham led the team in scoring with four assists on the weekend.

With the irregular scheduling, the team is feeling the burden that comes with playing five games in eight nights.

“We can only play what’s scheduled for us, and it’s tough,” Gibson said.

“We’ve got some banged up bodies right now. Even though this is a tough stretch, we can’t make excuses. We need to find ways to get those points.”

Queen’s will be at home for a rare Tuesday game to play Carleton before a Friday-Saturday road trip to Laurentian and Nipissing.